Last Saturday. You came. You skanked. And because of you, the night was GREAT! We just went through an entire roll of photos of YOU. And we couldn’t decide how to narrow down all the beautiful shots, so we set the photo gallery on random and this is what came out. If you happen to be in any of these photos, email us at info@koreionz.com with your mailing address and we’ll send you a copy of World War Free in exchange for your good looks broadcasted on our website. Deal? Much love and see you at Bumbershoot on SUN SEPT 4 (use the official Kore Ionz fan discount code “F2AD9″ when you order your tickets online)!!!
The day is finally here. The big release. World War Free. We’ve been in and out of Aleph Studios in West Seattle recording, mixing, and mastering the album with our producer Mell Dettmer since April 2010, and so much has happened since.
Since entering the studio we’ve performed with The Wailers, Steel Pulse, Third World, Ky-Mani Marley, Katchafire, J Boog, and two-time Grammy award winner Common. Our live in-studio with Kid Hops on KEXP 90.3 FM in January 2011 peaked at #19 on the station’s Top Live Performances chart, right below Death Cab For Cutie.
“Love You Better,” the lead single released as an EP in May 2011, has been on heavy rotation on Native FM on the Big Island of Hawai’i since early July, peaking at no less than the #1 top requested spot. We just got back from a week in the Aloha State, which included an in-studio with Phat Joe and The Reggae Cafe on Island 98.5 in Honolulu, and homecoming celebrations at both Tropics and Kapi’olani Community College in Honolulu. Minus the seaweed rash, we’re rejuvenated and ready to go.
Shortly after World War II, in a letter to President Harry S. Truman, Albert Einstein stated, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” The reality we all need to understand is that our Earth’s natural resources, of which we are obviously very highly dependent, are dwindling at an exponential rate, and the desperate battle to control these resources will ultimately lead us into something that most of us don’t really want to think about right now.
World War Free opens a dialogue on how our history has shaped the current state of the world, and how our actions (or lack thereof) will ultimately shape the future. What we need is more love and less fear. The bottom line? Love will conquer all. It has to.
Kore Ionz perform at The Crocodile on Saturday, August 20, 2011 with Unite-One, Island Bound, and DJ Element. The official World War Free release will be hosted by Prometheus Brown of Blue Scholars. 2200 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121. 8pm doors, 21+, $10.
Yesterday we were invited by Phat Joe to do a live in-studio on The Reggae Cafe on Island 98.5 in Honolulu. He played the album version of “First Avenue” and had us perform a special acoustic version of “Love You Better” on the ‘ukulele. Was good fun! Shout out to our promotions manager Kiley for putting it all together!
REQUEST “LOVE YOU BETTER” ON ISLAND 98.5! CALL (808) 296-9850!
Back in June we sent a stack of the Love You Better EP to radio stations down the West Coast and over to Hawai’i. And then we waited. Made phone calls. Sent emails. And waited. Then, in the middle of July, our promotions manager (Kiley!) sent a text saying that “Love You Better” was on heavy rotation on Native FM, broadcasting in both Hilo and Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i. For real?
Kiley then contacted all the DJs on the station and got us an invite to do a live in-studio with Jake Show. The timing was perfect as we were just about to leave for the islands to perform at Kapi’olani Community College on O’ahu. And so the band sent me over to Hilo to represent, armed with just an ‘ukulele. The in-studio was great. Jake is the man. He had me perform “Love You Better” and “Morning Son” as well as premiering the album versions of “Only One” and “First Avenue” off the new album, World War Free, which is currently live on iTunes!
The biggest trip of the trip came right after I left the station, heading up to Reeds Bay to relax before heading to the airport. A couple of reef fishermen were lugging in a big cooler full of fish they had just caught. One of the guys saw my ‘ukulele and asked if I played in a band. I told him I played in a band called Kore Ionz, and that I was just on the radio. As soon as the words came out of my mouth his face dropped and he slapped his friend in the arm exclaiming, “Brah! Dis da guy! My favorite song on the radio!” He then proceeded to sing all the lyrics to “Love You Better.” It was surreal. Unreal. We quickly became friends and hung out while they cleaned the fish. They invited me to a fish fry with their family, but I sadly had to decline and get my ‘okole to the airport. But I did promise we’d be back very soon, with the whole band. What a great trip. See you braddahs soon…
Kore Ionz perform with Steel Pulse on Sunday July 24 at Pantages Theater in Tacoma, WA. 7pm, All Ages, $29-49.
Since 1975, Steel Pulse has been spreading a message of hope, education, and activism around the world. Originally forming at Handsworth Wood Boys School in Birmingham, England, they have six Grammy nominations to date and are the only reggae band to perform at a presidential inauguration (President Clinton’s in 1993). We got the call just a couple weeks ago to open for the legends tomorrow night (Sunday July 24) in Tacoma at Pantages Theater. Unreal.
Pantages Theater 901 Broadway Tacoma, WA 98402 (253) 591-5890 GET TICKETS
Just got a call from the owner of Nectar Lounge who said he had a chance to chat with Ky-Mani Marley’s management earlier today. After telling them about us, they decided to release a limited number of discount tickets to the Seattle show specifically for fans of Kore Ionz, who are on the bill as main support for the second youngest son of Bob Marley.
<— CLICK ON SHOW FLYER AND ENTER DISCOUNT CODE “koreionz” TO ORDER TICKETS AT THE KI FAN RATE OF 1/2 THE DOOR PRICE!
Ky-Mani Marley is currently on his Reggae Revolution Tour of the West Coast with Gramps Morgan of the internationally renowned reggae group Morgan Heritage on their way to headline legendary Reggae On The River in Humboldt and perform at Wembley Arena for the One Love Peace Festival in London.
FYI, the literal translation of kamaʻāina in Hawaiian is “child of the land,” which is commonly used to refer to special treatment for long-time residents of the land, residents who have moved away, and family of residents. Special “kamaʻāina rates” are offered for food and services, and in this case, to YOU, our family! See you next Wednesday at Nectar Lounge! Tickets going small kine fast!
Last Saturday we did a double header, starting with the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle Marathon (see last blog post) early in the morning, then heading straight to Portland in the Mahalo Tour Van to do a show with J Boog. The braddah’s latest video for his song “Let’s Do It Again,” which has super heavy rotation on the radio in Hawai’i, has over 1.2 million views on YouTube!
The venue was pretty surreal – the Oasis Rooftop overlooking the Willamette River that cuts right through downtown PDX. The sun set just as we got started, and with all the Polynesians in the house, it felt like we were back in the islands (and we will be, this August!). We got pretty royal treatment, with a rooftop private lounge complete with a fire pit built into the table, and all the refreshments we could possibly want. Here’s more photos from the night, shot by our tour manager Kizamu.
What a weekend! 5:30 AM load-in on Saturday morning right in the heart of Pioneer Square for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle Marathon. With our set scheduled for a 10:45 AM start and the roads closed in anticipation of 30,000 marathon runners, we had almost five hours to kill live it up before it was time to make some music. And so, Ahkeenu, Thaddeus, and I decided to take a walk. A walk we don’t usually take at six in the morning in our own hometown, which just happens to have some amazing street art. I pretty much played photographer for these two good looking guys for the next hour or so:
After our impromptu photo shoot, the best green room experience ever at 88 Keys (we got to DJ World War Free in it’s entirety off their huge sound system), and welcoming the rest of the band to the stage (they all got to enjoy their beauty sleep), we rocked our spot at 2nd and Main for an hour and a half. Here’s what we saw from the stage:
#RnRSEA was fun times. We saw a bunch of ladies skanking up 2nd and a few braddahs flashing the shakas. When the very last runner passed the stage at noon, it was time to hustle and pack up the Mahalo Tour Van to get down to another load-in in Portland by 4:30 PM. Here we go again…
12:00PM Mahalo Tour Van (courtesy of Thaddeus Turner) picks up the band at our usual meeting spot in Mt. Baker, just as the sun breaks out of the clouds. As we leave Seattle, the van smells of coffee, Red Bull, and Kiley eating tacos.
3:00PM After a three hour business meeting in the van we arrive in Portland. First stop is Music Millennium on Burnside to get the Love You Better EP on the racks. Just a few blocks away is a new Hawaiian restaurant called Ate-Oh-Ate…the fried rice omelette is the grinds.
4:00PM Quick stop at KBOO to drop off a copy of the EP for our friend Ras Danny who does the Higher Reasoning Reggae Time show every Sunday from 3-6am. We may be joining him in the studio on June 25th right after the J Boog show in Portland. Now to find our way back to the I-5…next stop Eugene!
8:30PM We pull into Eugene just as the sun starts to disappear behind the Oregon foothills. Again, our first stop is at the local record store called CD WORLD to get the new EP on the shelf. There’s a big poster of Thaddeus Turner on the wall with Maktub – it’s pretty epic. Ahkeenu picks up a Midnite album and Kiley grabs the new Stephen Marley and we head straight to the WOW Hall.
11:30PM The WOW Hall is awesome. It’s the same idea as the Vera Project in Seattle (non-profit and youth run) but with more grit and an earthy smell. We’ll definitely be back! Medium Troy hits the stage and knocks the ball out of the park. Eugene’s finest!
1:00AM Our tour manager Kizamu gets a random invite to a Hawai’i party but when we get there it’s already shut down for the night. What happened?
1:30AM Downtown Eugene is cracking. Random people are screaming, there are a few well-intoxicated dudes laid out on the sidewalk, and a long line begins to form at this taco truck. We order a bunch, with this cream sauce all over. DELICIOUS! We go back to the house of Medium Troy frontman JoJo, talk story for a while, and call it a night.
Kore Ionz perform Saturday June 11th at The Wild Buffalo in Bellingham with The Fabulous Party Boys, 9pm, 21+, $6 adv.
The boys are back in Bellingham on Saturday, this time with the new Love You Better EP. It’s graduation day for WWU and the city will be full of folks in town for the festivities. Wild Buffalo promoter Austin Santiago thinks it’s going to be a big night, and we’re looking forward to it. Will be our first time rocking the stage with The Fabulous Party Boys. Who’s coming?
In the meantime, check out the incredibly in-depth (and historical) article written by our braddah Jonathan Kull for the WWU newspaper last time we came through the ‘Ham in February. Dude drove all the way down to Seattle from Bellingham to meet the guys at ‘Ohana in Belltown just to get an interview! Hardcore!
